Senate GOP Plans Votes On Pa. Budget Bills

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Senate Republicans say they’ve got a strategy for putting together a state budget that could lead to it being enacted as soon as Friday.

Republican leaders said Monday that they’ve been working with their Democratic counterparts and Gov. Ed Rendell in hopes of resolving the impasse of a budget that’s already three months overdue.

They say they’ll release details on their latest spending plan after a private afternoon meeting with rank-and-file members.

House Democrats say the Senate’s move is bound to add weeks to the process because of built-in time delays when budget bills are considered.

The Senate Republicans’ announcement came after they released a letter saying they didn’t plan to participate in public negotiations sessions of the bipartisan conference committee in the state Capitol.